How to retrieve money from Qantas

[cambriamarsh]

Will do tomorrow once more. Screenshot of login page is also attached

Often happens with pin failure, strange they can't sort it quickly. Good luck

 

[Sham.raz]

The usual email address is [email protected]. Would that be the one that you are using to contact QF?

Yes

 

[love_the_life]

Thank you for the clarification Sham.raz. Personally I think it's a matter of trying to persevere with contacting QFF rather than aiming for small claims etc.

 

[dajop]

Thank you for the clarification Sham.raz. Personally I think it's a matter of trying to persevere with contacting QFF rather than aiming for small claims etc.

There are numerous anecdotes on AFF that suggest that going to ACA (the advocate, not “a current affairs” ) can expedite a solution if continuing to contact QF has no success. I would suggest that would be a quicker path than trying to break through the QF brick wall. It is not a legal action route and does not cost, so worth a try.

 

[DC3]

... and welcome to AFF.

 

[love_the_life]

There are numerous anecdotes on AFF that suggest that going to ACA (the advocate, not “a current affairs” ) can expedite a solution if continuing to contact QF has no success. I would suggest that would be a quicker path than trying to break through the QF brick wall. It is not a legal action route and does not cost, so worth a try.

The ACA is a different proposition (and much more sensible IMO, from the OP's first post - asking about debt collectors.

 

[RooFlyer]

And yet others post that they should automatically be believed just because they are a new member of AFF.

Well, yes. 'Innocent until proven guilty' is a phrase you may have come across.

Not common in Australia at all. Grammatically incorrect. Usage should be avoided. Common in the US in my experience.

Not common in your experience, evidently. Very common in mine (and others, I see).

Firstly apologies for a delayed response. It's weekend and had lot of home duties.

No apology required.

... and welcome to AFF.

Oh. Any apology for your posts above about 'leaving the building' and inference that the OP was a troll?

In fact, apologies or at least retractions to the OP would be nice from a number of posters on this thread. Lets not see that type of reaction to a newbie with a complaint again.

 

[DC3]

Not implying that OP is a troll. That was never the intention. It was just a play on the old phrase. And, the OP has returned to the building.

Edit: Edited after reviewing

 

[juddles]

Will do tomorrow once more. Screenshot of login page is also attached

Sham.raz, excellent you came back and are following up with some more bits of info.

I have no idea who you talk to when you call Qantas, but I would suggest when you call them ask to speak to a "Fraud Specialist" (that is their title within Qantas). These are the people who specifically handle accounts frozen during investigations.

Although it is obviously not known why your account has been suspended, it appears from the info you have given that it would be by this section. And hence why most staff in the call centre cannot answer why.

The "usual" reason for this sort of thing is possible use of points in a commercial way - ie selling them (or trips purchased with them). You should have received an email at the time of the suspension with some sort of initial reason given, and also giving you a contact person within Qantas. Are you sure that you did not get such an email? I know it is easy to miss something from them due to the sheer amount of "offers" (spam) that they can send you.

The following is just conjecture: if you have not been dabbling in transfers of points, there seems to be only two possible reasons you could have become entangled like this. One is that transfer of a pass to your sister - just to discount that angle, check with her what she did with it. Many people do not realise that selling things is a breach. (also get her to check if her account is also frozen - if not then that probably also clears that up) The other is how you amass the points - you mention multiple credit cards that I assume feed points into your account? Maybe something in the way you have maximized your points earn from that has attracted their attention - but again, if that was the case they would be speaking to you about it....

Last comment, check that your email and phone details are current in your profile - which obviously you can only do by calling them

 

[banana boy]

In regards to the contention QFF points have no monetary value. Today I received an email from QFF which included the line "Prize pool: 1 Million Qantas Points (notional value of $34,474.64 (Incl GST))." surely this means that QFF values the OPs 200K points at approx. $6,500. Which could be used as a basis for a claim against QFF if as the OP says QFF has taken the points and the OP hasn't breached QFF's T&Cs.

 

[oz_mark]

I still think getting the account / points reinstated has more chance.of.success.

 

[Sham.raz]

Sham.raz, excellent you came back and are following up with some more bits of info.

I have no idea who you talk to when you call Qantas, but I would suggest when you call them ask to speak to a "Fraud Specialist" (that is their title within Qantas). These are the people who specifically handle accounts frozen during investigations.

Although it is obviously not known why your account has been suspended, it appears from the info you have given that it would be by this section. And hence why most staff in the call centre cannot answer why.

The "usual" reason for this sort of thing is possible use of points in a commercial way - ie selling them (or trips purchased with them). You should have received an email at the time of the suspension with some sort of initial reason given, and also giving you a contact person within Qantas. Are you sure that you did not get such an email? I know it is easy to miss something from them due to the sheer amount of "offers" (spam) that they can send you.

The following is just conjecture: if you have not been dabbling in transfers of points, there seems to be only two possible reasons you could have become entangled like this. One is that transfer of a pass to your sister - just to discount that angle, check with her what she did with it. Many people do not realise that selling things is a breach. (also get her to check if her account is also frozen - if not then that probably also clears that up) The other is how you amass the points - you mention multiple credit cards that I assume feed points into your account? Maybe something in the way you have maximized your points earn from that has attracted their attention - but again, if that was the case they would be speaking to you about it....

Last comment, check that your email and phone details are current in your profile - which obviously you can only do by calling them

I have checked with my sister and she already used lounge pass while departing Australia.

Cc is used to make all types of payment including water, electricity,gas and mobile so the points accumulated quickly.

 

[DC3]

Just

I have checked with my sister and she already used lounge pass while departing Australia.

Cc is used to make all types of payment including water, electricity,gas and mobile so the points accumulated quickly.

Just a long shot, but have you bought/returned much through the Qantas On-line Shopping Mall? A problem appeared on AFF a few months ago (account suspension matter) relating to such transactions.

 

[RichardMEL]

So I have read the entire thread until now, but I come back to the initial post...

Qantas suspended my frequent flyer membership without any notification or information.

I have been trying to seek response for last 2 months but they are not reverting. Lodged complaint with NSW Fair Trading but of no use.

Have you actually talked to Qantas Frequent Flyer Service Centre or just the general reservations?

I sent them letter of demand but they didn't budge by deadline. I have over 200k points which were earned through tens of thousands of dollars worth o[/quf spend.

I'm sorry - a "letter of demand"? for WHAT exactly? You had a deadline you gave to QF? No doubt someone there saw that and had a laugh tbh.

Being an individual, can I hire debt collector for this matter? What are other options available to get money(points equivalent) back?

Thank you

Debt collectors? QF own the currency of the points within their closed system. I'm not sure exactly what it is you're seeking here?

if your account suspension is in error, and it's actually a weird PIN issue or something technical like that then no problem. If they suspect and can prove something else, then that's a whole other situation.

If ONLY the points earned were from Amex purchases then in reality QF ha ssold those points to Amex to "give" to you, but they still "own" the currency. While it may have an internal value to QF it's not going to be the same as the "external" value quoted to customers (such as the 1 million points valued at $34k above) or even the "value" in redemptions (such as 7,700 points for a lousy old logo keep cup).

It's good you came back but honestly I think to most of us there's the missing issue of why the account was suspended and that is key here.....

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Points clearly have a value. They are bought and sold daily by the airlines and frequent flyer programs. Just because they claim they have no value it doesn’t necessarily mean that is so.

 

[jpp42]

Points clearly have a value. They are bought and sold daily by the airlines and frequent flyer programs. Just because they claim they have no value it doesn’t necessarily mean that is so.

Totally agreed. This was the intent of my comment earlier that wasn't received very well - where I made the comparison to banks which can't take your money when they close your account. Yes there are one-sided terms and conditions from the airlines, but these can't go against law. If a court were to determine that points have value (which seems clear that they do), then a lot of the terms would be invalid. Qantas does not make law.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

In the old days the only way to earn points was by flying. And the only thing to redeem points for was empty seats (either outright, or by upgrade).

These days airlines actively promote earning opportunities... encouraging you to buy one particular insurance or health cover or even dog boarding in order to earn points. And those points all come at a cost to the consumer.

The argument that points have no value might have been legitimate when FF programs started out. Whether or not it still holds true given FF schemes can be the biggest profit earning centre for an airline is the question.

 

[RichardMEL]

My point (pun intended) was that points are a currency within the closed system run by QFF and they have differing values depending on who is looking at it. The internal value, for example, is lower than the "external" value - by that I mean QFF internally may value a point at 0.7c, but they will sell that point to a bank or other party for, I don't know making up a number here, say 1.02c and then even still the customer idea of value of the point is going to be based on, perhaps, what they are settling things for in the store, or the "value" of a reward seat, or even the as stated commercial value by QF in competitions and the like.

And as we know the value of points does factor as a liability on the balance sheets of the loyalty programs.

 

[Isochronous]

Juddles, good catch. That word usage, in the sense of "get back to you" is common in Singapore and India, but rarely used in Australia... except by expats.

It is commonly used by anyone in a profession that uses English at a high professional level, both in Aus as well as throughout the Commonwealth.

I'm always disappointed in these types of threads when many only come on to criticise the OP, or cast doubt on their motives, and/or integrity. This seems to be a reflex action now, for some.

Often the OP is a newbie (as in this case), just asking for help, and I don't wonder that they sometimes don't come back when confronted with the number of posts having a direct go at them, rather than the issue raised. Like I've said before, give newbies a bit of latitude, eh? Especially if their join date is the same date as their first post.

Sorry I can't help beyond what's been said @Sham.raz ; Small Claims might be the way to go, but good luck.

'Revert', @juddles, means 'get back to them'

Agree very strongly with this post - there are too many slavish fanboys on this forum who worship every utterance of Mr Joyce and any other corporate automaton wheeled out to represent the airlines. Surprising for a forum mostly comprising passengers that there is such strong kneejerk anti-passenger sentiment!

Very common here in more formal spheres ... like legal/banking/larger business.

Agreed.

 

[Kerrodt]

Points clearly have a value. They are bought and sold daily by the airlines and frequent flyer programs. Just because they claim they have no value it doesn’t necessarily mean that is so.

Points may have a value between QFF and their points partners on the basis of a commercial arrangement between these parties but they do not have a value between QFF and a member of the program. The terms and conditions of the program clearly state this. You should not be confusing these two very different scenarios.

19.4 Qantas Points do not have a monetary value and cannot be converted to money. They cannot be sold, transferred or exchanged other than in accordance with these Terms and Conditions. The prices for additional Qantas Points do not represent a monetary value for Qantas Points.